It might seem premature, but after last season’s general weirdness (Leicester City winning the title and Chelsea finishing 10th), things are very much back to normal this year, and that’s been bad news for Kane.

It’s only November, but Chelsea’s Diego Costa already looks a player reborn under Antonio Conte, with the stats showing he’s probably the best striker in the country (again).

Kane, meanwhile, looks unlikely to retain the Golden Boot, and his slightly limited game is perhaps starting to be found out by defences up and down the country. Costa, in contrast, has improved several aspects of his game to return to the more complete forward we saw in his first season in England two years ago.

The Blues front-man is, of course, currently the leading scorer in the Premier League, but what else is he contributing in this new-look Chelsea side flourishing under Antonio Conte?

Aggression

This is as clear as night and day to anyone who’s ever watched these two, but Costa is undoubtedly the more aggressive of the two strikers, and this season that’s made him a nightmare for defenders.

The Spaniard has sometimes let his anger get the better of him in the past, but under Conte he’s channeled it well and used it to his advantage.

The stats don’t tell the whole story, but his superior numbers in fouls, interceptions and attempted shots do give an idea of the absolute handful Costa can be when he’s in the mood.

Costa puts himself about a bit more than Kane (Picture: Squawka)

Variety

As already mentioned, Costa looks by far the more complete striker of the two after fine-tuning his game this season.

Kane has actually outscored the Chelsea man in each of their two full seasons as first-choice for their respective clubs, but the stats this season suggest that slightly one-dimensional aspect to Kane’s game is starting to count against him.

There’s nothing wrong with being a natural goal poacher, but the 23-year-old is no longer the new kid on the block and has to rely on more than just getting into the box and finishing moves off.

Costa is more than just a poacher (Picture: Squawka)

A quick glance at these numbers show that while Costa has ten goals from open play this season, including two from outside the box, Kane only has three so far, with his total tally of five aided by two from the penalty spot.

Costa would certainly score even more if he was on penalty duty for Chelsea, but he’s shown he has a variety of ways to score and trouble defences, including by running at his opponents (evidenced by his impressive successful take-ons (25) in comparison to Kane’s (5).

Costa has made huge strides under Cone (Picture: Getty)

Teamwork

A more accomplished passer of the ball, and perhaps generally a more team-orientated player, Costa is also well ahead of Kane in this department.

Costa boats a better pass completion rate (74%) than Kane (65%) and has played ten more key passes so far this season.

It is little surprise, therefore, to see that the 28-year-old has laid on three assists for his team-mates this term, compared to just one from Kane.

It’s a remarkable turnaround from where these two were last season, and it suggests that the big man up front for Chelsea this weekend is likely to be a more pivotal figure in deciding the outcome of this big game.